Are you a risk taker? Do you think you have a stronger appetite for risk relative to your friends and family? We asked some folks from the community about their approaches to risk and have shared their thoughts below.

Alisha Tallarico | Producer, Creative Director & Artist Development

I am all for taking risks! Its nerve-racking in the beginning but more times then not, it pays off in the end! Taking risks has played a major part in what I’ve accomplished in my career. A risk that really paid off for me was reaching out to “NappyTabs”, a creative director/executive producer husband and wife duo who work for major artists, popular TV shows and more! Ive always wanted to expand from just being a dancer, and they are someone that everyone in entertainment dreams of working with. So I reached out in an email noting my previous experience and asking if they were needing an assistant and they hit me back right away! Soon I was in for an interview, then starting the job! Read more>>

Josh Sikkema | Video Director

Risk is something that I learned has just become apart of my journey. I was once told to learn to be comfortable at being uncomfortable. The biggest risk I took was when I left my home of Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved to Los Angeles to pursue Directing/Content Creation. I had created a name for myself locally in the creative scene of my hometown and was also a news cameraman working at the local television station full-time. After almost four years of refining my skills in not only television, but also in the local scene I was faced with the biggest decision of my life. My dream was always to move to Los Angeles and at some point I had to make the leap. Read more>>

Angelika Alana | Spiritual & Soul-full Self Esteem Teacher

I feel like a silver lining from some of the more challenging aspects of my childhood is that I’m extremely risk resilient. I always joke, plant me anywhere and I’ll find a way to thrive. I think this is one of the greatest advantages I have as an entrepreneur but also specifically as a coach. I can’t coach people on life if I haven’t had a tonne of life experience myself. That experience came from me taking a bunch of risks, living all over the world, trying so many different healing modalities and happiness methods…. along with making a tonne of mistakes. Read more>>

Emily Lau | Business Owner

Starting my business was a risk. When I finally decided to quit my job as a TV writer/producer to start The Little Bra Company full time, it felt like stepping off a cliff. Even after 13 years in business, I still consider that moment the most difficult business decision I have ever made. Once I made that decision to put everything financially and personally into my own business, all decisions after that were about surviving and making it happen. I was in it, so there was no time to think about each decision too long or turn back. It was survival, and somehow that makes decision-making easier for me. Read more>>

Jennifer Garcia | Photographer, Photography Studio Owner, Writer & Director

Risk taking is an art that requires much practice. It’s challenging to reach a space of comfort with big risks, until you’ve practiced on smaller the smaller ones. It’s the small risks that give you the courage to step into risks of a larger capacity. As you continue taking risks, your confidence grows and eventually taking those huge risks won’t seem impossible! I’ve been taking risks my entire life. It’s part of the territory that comes with paving your own path. One of my first bigger risks was leaving my day job to solely pursue photography. It was a terrifying decision, but I found the courage to push through fear and change my life. Read more>>

Kari Jaffe | Yoga Evolutionary

Risk taking is so interesting to me because there is so much duality in this conversation. It’s the push and pull between two concepts. Taking a risk inherently suggests that there will be one of two outcomes; success or failure. The equal and opposing forces are required, ya know. Without salty we would not know sweet. Success, birthing an idea, bringing something to fruition, tastes so sweet because I have felt the feeling of loss, lack of delivery on a project, or failure. I have to take the risk to have the full spectrum of feelings, to know all the possible outcomes, even leaving space for things I couldn’t imagine possible, so I can make an educated decision about the value and worth of that risk. Read more>>

Shana Race | Bartender & Owner

Taking risks for me comes in many shapes and forms. Risks can look like career leaps of faith or take shape emotionally as well. Both take courage but ultimately for me I really boils down to knowing and trusting myself. I know I can fall and get back up. I have failed in so many ways, so many times but every failure is a major life lesson. Guaranteed from every failure I have and will learn how to navigate a success in the future. Failing is the best thing I have ever done but I couldn’t fail or succeed with out taking the risk in the first place. Figure out what you want and simplify it. Read more>>

Heidi Rueff | Professional Rocket Painter & Art Director

Taking risks is a vital part of life. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t take the risks I had. Even though it can be scary and unsettling, I always think about what the outcome will be. I take the risks I do, because I know in the end I’ll have learned valuable lessons and pushed myself and my talents to go places they never would have gotten to on their own. That’s what I latch onto to when I start to feel unsure about any risk I’ve taken. For instance, when I chose to leave my job in the entertainment industry for aerospace, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know the first thing about aerospace. What I did know though, is that this would be the chance to really expand my talents in a field that is undeniably cool. Read more>>

Christopher Gannon | Actor

Risk taking is what life is all about. If you combine risk taking with optimism, your life will gain a whole new meaning. It’s necessary to take risks because if you don’t, you’ll end up somewhere you don’t want to be. An old mentor I follow by the name of Jim Rohn who is sadly no longer with us said this. “The minute you were born it got risky. If you think trying is risky, wait till they hand you the bill for not trying. If you think investing is risky, wait till they hand you the tab for not investing. Getting married is risky, having children is risky, investing your money is risky, going into business is risky, it’s all risky. I’ll tell you how risky life is, you’re not gonna get out alive. That’s risky.” Read more>>

Andrew Andrawes | Serial Entrepreneur

Depending on where I am at in life, is how I measure the level of risk I would take. This applies to financials, business, investments, or a complete career change. There are highs and lows of taking a risk, and I have endured both. Most people are afraid to take a risk because the outcome is not always guaranteed. But I decided not to live my life wondering “what if.” I have been single for a while, which means that I do not have serious obligations, overhead or expenses that come along with building and maintaining a family. In my opinion, this is the best time to take risks especially when it comes to time and money. I’m currently 30 years old and soon enough I might be looking to build a family. Read more>>

Tara Diaz | Licensed Acupuncturist

Normally, I would consider myself risk adverse. There are regrets I have in life that involved not taking risks or not wanting to get out of my comfort zone. But my biggest successes come from taking calculated risks. Back in 2009 I had a great job in the hotel industry which was on an upward trajectory. But the recession made me question my life choices. I knew that my desire and skill was to help people improve their health with natural medicine, but there are not many jobs in that industry. Most of us open practices and become our own bosses. Even with that information, I still decided to pursue my degree in acupuncture and quit my full time stable job and trade it in for 5 hours a week as a front desk person in a clinic. Read more>>

Susan Gold | Peacemaker & Consultant

Risk is inherent in being a human on Earth. You can try and shelter yourself from it but at some point, you need to stare it down and stand up in order to thrive. Almost from the beginning, I’ve been a risk-taker. I speak the truth when it might be easier to stay silent. I went from growing up in a small town where many married their High School sweetheart to New York City not knowing anyone. I went from working for others to working for myself. I’ve knocked on doors, cold, and made deals. I moved across the country leaving everything I knew behind me. I bought a home not having a fixed income. Read more>>

Davey Jarrell | Animator & Storyboard Artist

All the work I do is in comedy, and pretty much every time you write or perform a joke, you’re taking a risk. You risk it not being funny, and you risk it being offensive. I’m currently a writer and storyboard artist for the pre-school show “Let’s Go Luna!” It’s a constant challenge to make the show really funny given the limitations of it being for pre-schoolers, but that hasn’t stopped me from pitching my most outrageous ideas. Whenever I find myself thinking, “This is so weird, there’s no way this will work,” or, “There’s no way kids will get this,” I always try it. It’s true that most of the time it doesn’t work, but every once in a while, it does, and those end up being my favorite scenes. Read more>>

Andrew Velázquez | Beauty Director & Online Coach

Taking risks has played an integral role in my life and career. I have been taking risks all of my life. Transforming and constantly changing is a quality I have embraced. From the age of 16 deciding to take my GED and choosing to move out and raise myself to begin Fashion School then Cosmetology School which then led me into 15 year career in Corporate Retail Cosmetics. Then almost exactly another 16 years later at the age of 32 (the year I got married) risking it all and leaving a steady, 6 figure Corporate Retail Cosmetic senior title to finally going solo and opening up a small 100 square foot suite to take personal clients and be independent. Read more>>

Chantay Brown | Television Producer, Author & Book Coach

Taking risks is how I elevate and discover new ways towards excelling. I remember working in higher education, prior to transitioning to my career in the entertainment industry, I literally JUMPED and took a risk. At the time, I had a full time job, full benefits, and had job security for 8 years. In less than two weeks of having this feeling that I needed to try my luck in the entertainment industry, I quit my job and took a job in the entertainment industry that was to only last for 1-month. ONE MONTH! This was me taking a risk and understanding what that leap would do for me and my future. I had to JUMP and take that risk in order to be bold in my life moving forward. Read more>>

Binal Naik | Love Aum Henna Creation, Esthetician, Henna Artist, Hairstylist & Makeup Artist

Yes, risk-taking is important. However, as a business owner, one needs to have certain faith and that faith helps you go forward while taking a risk in your business. Avoiding risk is also a very important part of running a business. Some risk I avoided and some I embraced to grow my business. There were many upsides and some downsides with my business from the very beginning. I started with the base of threading eyebrows at the shampoo Bowl at Hair Salon Studio at Tustin. My qualification was limited to Eyebrows Threading and a Henna Artist. Being new in the salon, I had to be very careful about not disturbing the seasoned beauty artist and still manage to take walking clients for the eyebrows threading services. Read more>>

Ann-Sophie Vanlommel | Performing Artist

Risk taking is one of the most important choices a person can make in life. Because without risks big changes won’t happen and life stagnates. If Austrian- American actress Hedy Lamarr didn’t risk boarding the boat Mayer from MGM was on she’d probably never have reached the United States during Hollywood’s Golden Age. If I hadn’t taken the risks I did I would never know what freedom is. In short, risk taking is scary but absolutely necessary. Risk has cost me many sleepless nights filled with tears and anxiety, but the feeling of satisfaction I was rewarded with afterwards was worth the pain time and again. It’s played an enormous role in my life, it still does because I’m an artist, I take risks for a living (laughs). Read more>>

jD Shapiro | Chief Knuckelhead

It’s MASSIVELY important. Without it I know I would have never had any success at all, and I fully believe it’s the only way anyone has success. Many of my friends and family thought me moving 3,500 miles away with $900 and a car packed with my stuff was a risk. They’d say “How long you going to give it before you make it.” I’d say, :Until I make it.” They kept wanting me to put a time stamp on it and I didn’t understand that at all. I simply was going to make it no matter how long it took. And I do not feel I’ve really made it yet. Lot’s more I want to say. Anyway, I didn’t think this was a risk. Read more>>

Tara Nesbitt | Experienced Educator & Entrepreneur

I think about risks as being just another part of a business venture or stepping stones towards meeting your life goals. All people, whether business owners or not, take risks; everyday. When your intent is to risk more for an even greater gain, then usually there’s a very important lesson in the journey and you’re content with whatever the outcome may be because is was intentional. Taking risks pertaining to both my life and career, has been rewarding overall. Without some risks, I probably would have still been stagnant or not as successful as I am now. Read more>>

Anne Ward | Artist

Risk is the lifeblood of a creative person. I think of risk as being a series of calculated challenges from which one can never ‘fail’. With enough time, the challenges become valuable experiences that inform the next series of risks…and on and on. I’ve been painting for twenty five years and there is still a sense of jeopardy for me when I begin a painting. I’ve had plenty of ‘flops’ but those have paved the way for better paintings. I try to create risk relative to the materials and size in which I am working. If it were easy it wouldn’t be fun!! I think that’s one of the reasons I enjoy painting plein air where the light is changing quickly and there is a pressure to synthesize information and organize pictorial space. I think risk pays off over time in unexpected ways. Read more>>